CHAPTER 6 – GETTING ON WITH LIFE
08:22 (Washington Time)
Monday, December 24, 1973 ‘C’
Room 412, Hay-Adams Hotel
Washington, D.C.
U.S.A.
‘’Come on, Hien: time to wake up!’’
‘’Uh? Why, Mom? I’m on vacation.’’
‘’Because we are on the eve of Christmas and I want to show you something.’’ said Ingrid patiently while hovering above Hien, who was still tucked in bed. Hien finally reacted and started slowly to get out of bed, still sleepy.
‘’So, what is it that you want to show me, Mom?’’
‘’Not here, Hien. What I want to show you is not in this hotel.’’
‘’Could we at least take the time to have breakfast and get a cup of strong coffee first?’’
‘’Of course, my dear daughter. Do take your coat once dressed, though: it is fairly cold outside.’’
‘’Will do!’’ replied Hien while getting up on her feet. Ingrid then kissed her on the forehead while caressing her back.
‘’It is really nice to be together like this for some family time.’’
‘’For me too, Mom. Are you going to stay in Washington for a while still, or will you need to return to Vandenberg soon?’’
‘’I actually am in the process of moving my residence from Vandenberg to Washington: as the head of an independent armed service, I have to stay in Washington and work from the Pentagon in order to be able to attend the meetings of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and to answer requests by the President to show up at the White House. And you? How long will you be working out of the State Department’s headquarters?’’
‘’I don’t know yet, but it will be for at the least another six or seven months, if not a lot more. Right now, there are no positions open around Asia for a junior cultural attaché like me, while my bosses at Foggy Bottom{6} appreciate a lot my linguistic abilities and don’t want to let me go.’’
‘’I can understand them on that: good linguists are hard to come by in Washington these days, especially when it concerns Asian languages. You could actually make a good life for you here and have a stable residence.’’
‘’But I like to travel overseas, Mom! My dream right now would be to be posted to our embassy in Vietnam.’’
‘’And what if you get married? Will you stay in the Foreign Service? You know how hard it is to convince men to follow us around our jobs, rather than the other way around.’’
Hien audibly sighed at that last sentence.
‘’I know, Mom, but I am not ready yet to chain myself to a husband’s career. There is so much of the World to see.’’
‘’I fully understand you on that, Hien. I may have had the right to marry and have children since nearly twenty years now, but I am effectively married to my plane…or spaceship. I just can’t see myself become a simple housewife, not after all that I have accomplished and what I still want to accomplish. If anything, my idea of a perfect death would be for it to happen at the commands of a plane or in Space.’’
‘’Please, don’t talk about your death: I will be heartbroken when it will eventually happen. That is, if I manage to live longer than you: at the incredibly slow rate you appear to age, I may very well die of old age well before you do. How long exactly could you live? Did Natai tell you before she left, once I became an adult?’’
Ingrid thought for a moment about the angel who had helped her as Hien’s nanny, protecting both Hien and her until five years ago before returning to Jerusalem ‘B’, where she was still reigning as Queen of Jerusalem and Overseer of Palestine.
‘’She did not tell me, but I have the feeling that I will be around for quite a while. The Air Force doctors who examine me regularly are pulling their hair out trying to understand what is happening with my body. On the other hand, my dates have no objections at all about my apparent eternal youth.’’
Hien couldn’t help giggle at those words: Ingrid liked sex a lot, with both men and women, but still had to hide her relations with women because of the anathema about lesbianism and bisexuality which still existed in the American armed forces.
‘’You know, sex might be your eventual downfall, especially in a town like Washington. One paparazzi photo taken of you with the wrong partner could be enough to ruin your military career. Talking of your career, aren’t you due for mandatory retirement in four or five years?’’
‘’Normally I would, but President Kennedy signed an executive order exempting me from the mandatory retirement age, due to my very special ability to stay young. So, I will be able to serve as long as doctors keep declaring me fit for service. The one thing I eventually hope for is to be able to hold a grandchild in my arms.’’
Hien smiled and looked up at Ingrid then.
‘’Well, that could happen one day, but you will have to be a bit patient, time for my urge to travel to calm down. Now, give me a few minutes and I will be ready to go down with you to the hotel’s dining room for breakfast.’’
The two of them ended up going down to the hotel’s dining room some ten minutes later, where they had a light breakfast before putting on their winter coats and going out in the parking lot of the Hay-Adams. Hien opened her eyes wide at the sight of the bright red Pontiac Trans Am 1974 to which Ingrid led her.
‘’You changed your rental car?’’
‘’What rental car? I bought myself a Christmas gift: a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am with an SD455 V-8, 310 horsepower engine. Since I had accumulated a good two years of unspent pay while on my mission to Mars, I was easily able to buy it cash. So, what do you think of it?’’
‘’It is magnificent! I see that the demon of speed is still in you.’’
‘’And will be forever! Hop in!’’
Hien wasted no time in sitting in the well-padded, leather-covered passenger’s bucket seat, then buckled her seat belt as Ingrid started the engine in a mighty roar, making more than one head around the parking lot turn towards the fiery red muscle car.
‘’With a car like this, you will be a magnet for highway patrol policemen, Mom.’’
‘’Pah! If I get stopped, I will simply use my charms to make them forget that they saw me. Besides, I may like speed but I am not simply a maniac: just a reasonable maniac.’’ replied Ingrid before engaging her manual transmission and reversing out of her parking spot.
Ingrid actually proved to be a reasonable driver, mostly keeping to the posted speed limits and following smoothly the Washington’s morning traffic while crossing the Potomac river and heading in the general direction of the Pentagon. They however skirted the gigantic building and headed instead into the small city of Arlington, next to the Pentagon. Hien got progressively more excited as they drove into an old familiar scenery.
‘’Are we going to pass by our old house on South Grove Street, Mom?’’
‘’Yes, we are! I thought that you would like to see again the house in which you spent your first years in the United States.’’
‘’I definitely will like that, Mom.’’
After another six minutes of driving they arrived in sight of a comfortable-looking two-level bungalow with garage located in front of a park and playground and flanked by other bungalows. Hien felt her heart jump in her chest at the sight of the house in which she had grown as a young girl. She had expected Ingrid to simply slow down or stop once in front of the house but, instead, her adoptive mother drove onto the paved driveway of the garage and parked there, shutting the engine. Hien was about to ask what were her intentions when she saw the real estate sign planted on the lawn, with a large sticker saying ‘sold’ on it. She snapped her head around at her now smiling mother.
‘’YOU BOUGHT BACK OUR OLD FAMILY HOUSE?’’
‘’Yes, I did, Hien. We know that it is a nice house and it is close to the Pentagon, where I work. It previously belonged to a diplomat who was suddenly posted overseas a month ago, in order to plug a hole created by the sudden death of another of our diplomats. When I saw that opportunity, I simply could not pass over it and bought it…cash! It is now our family home, again.’’
Overjoyed, Hien bent sideways to hug Ingrid, who happily return her hug.
‘’I love you, Mom! Thank you for buying back our old house.’’
‘’It was my pleasure, Hien…and a pleasure for me as well. I always liked this house and what it meant for both of us. You want to tour it?’’
‘’Of course, Mom!’’
Both of them stepped out of the car, with Ingrid taking a set of keys out of one pocket once in front of the entrance door. She unlocked it and pushed it open, then stepped aside to let Hien pass first.
‘’After you, my dear daughter.’’
Hien felt utter joy as she entered the house and looked around her. It was immediately evident that there had been prior occupants, as the walls were not painted the same colors as what she remembered of her old home. However, the new colors were in good taste and she certainly could live with them. Walking slowly around the ground floor, she visited in succession the large living room, the dining room, the kitchen, the laundry room and a bathroom, then climbed the varnished wooden staircase leading to the upper floor. There, she visited the three large bedrooms, the private study and the large bathroom, which were all empty of furniture.
‘’When are you expecting to get your furniture from Vandenberg, Mom?’’
‘’In about ten days, once the New Year holiday will be over. In the meantime, I will buy new furniture sets for the master bedroom and the living room, plus a full kitchen set of accessories. My official residence in Vandenberg included kitchen and dining room sets of wares which belong to the Air Force, so I could not have them packed for moving. This will give me a chance to reequip our house to a brand-new standard.’’
‘’And your collection of old weapons and armored suits?’’
‘’Packed and soon on its way to Washington. You really think that I would have thrown away my medieval armors and antique weapons? They represent too much for me, and I don’t mean in terms of money.’’
‘’I know! You were always passionate about what they remind you about your past incarnations. The only thing missing then from our old house will be Natai.’’
‘’Who said that I won’t be around this house again?’’ said a female voice which made both Hien and Ingrid snap their heads around, to see a young and extremely beautiful Semitic woman now standing in the middle of the empty main bedroom. She wore an embroidered silk dress of classic Arabic design, plus a gold tiara and jewels worthy of a royalty, which Natai was. Hien immediately ran to her old guardian angel to hug her with passion.
‘’NATAI! I am so happy to see you again! Will you actually stay with us in this house?’’
‘’No! However, if you ever need me, you will just need to think about me and call me mentally and I will then appear to you. To see you two back in this particular house is truly nice to me. The One is happy as well about this.’’
Hien nodded her head and bowed respectfully at that mention of the prodigiously powerful spiritual entity to which Natai was an integral part, on top of acting as its divine envoy.
‘’And I thank The One for all that he did for me and Ingrid.’’
‘’The One wishes for you two to be happy again in this house for the next few years. Have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year, my friends.’’
Natai then faded into nothingness, leaving Hien and Ingrid alone in the bedroom. Hien sighed heavily while staring at the spot where Natai had been.
‘’I missed her so much. Well, I suppose that, now that we have a house, I will have to buy a car in order to travel between here and my work.’’
‘’Hold on to your horses, Hien: I have something else to show you. Follow me.’’
Curious and half-guessing what Ingrid wanted to show her, Hien followed her down the stairs. Her suspicions were reinforced when Ingrid opened the door linking the living room with the garage. Still, she opened her mouth wide at the sight of the brand-new Ford Mustang 1974 sitting in the garage.
‘’Oh my God! You didn’t!’’
‘’Yes, I did! This car is now yours. Here are the keys.’’
Taking the keys offered by Ingrid, Hien then slowly turned around the royal blue sports coupe with electric opening sunroof, admiring it from various angles. The coupe was a model which had a rear bench seat, making the car a four-seater.
‘’That’s for the time when you will have a family to transport.’’ explained Ingrid, smiling.
‘’It is beautiful! You shouldn’t have!’’
‘’And why not? I wanted to give you a Christmas gift, so here it is. Sorry that it didn’t come gift-wrapped.’’
‘’It will do just fine the way it is, Mom. Thank you so much!’’ said Hien, going to Ingrid to hug and kiss her on both cheeks, with Ingrid returning her kisses.
‘’How could I not spoil a bit such a sweet daughter as you, Hien.’’